Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley responded in the affirmative to radio host and author Charlamagne tha God when he asked if she felt “stupid” after she failed to identify slavery as a cause of the Civil War in December.
Haley, who is marching forward with her quixotic campaign against former President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination, appeared on the Breakfast Club radio show on Wednesday.
Charlamagne confronted Haley about her viral word salad response to a town hall attendee in New Hampshire in late December, where she said, “The cause of the Civil War was basically how the government was going to run.”
“Why initially didn’t you just say, ‘Hey, it was about slavery?” the host asked Wednesday.
Haley replied, saying she thought the man “was trying to ask something else” and that she “could tell that he was not a fan.”
“Slavery should have been the first thing that came out of my mouth. I mean, growing up in South Carolina, we all knew that the Civil War was about slavery. That almost seemed too easy; I thought he was asking a harder question, and that’s why I didn’t say it,” she said.
“It was wrong. I should have said it,” Haley continued, adding she was “overthinking that question.”
“Did you feel stupid that night?” Charlamagne asked.
“Yeah, I mean, it was one of those things like, because it was so – like slavery’s a given – so I was mad that it was a given, but I was too busy judging his intentions than I was just answering the question,” she responded.
After failing to mention slavery in her December 27 answer, the attendee said, “In the year 2023, it’s astonishing to me that you answer that question without mentioning the word slavery.”
“What do you want me to say about slavery?” Haley shot back.
The next day, Haley clarified that she believed “the Civil War was about slavery” while appearing on the local radio show Pulse of New Hampshire. However, she also claimed the man was a “Democrat plant.”
“Why are they hitting me? See this for what it is… They want to run against Trump,” Haley told the show. “In town halls, I answer every question, and they are planting questions there.”
“It was definitely a Democrat plant. When asked him, he didn’t want to answer. He didn’t give reporters his name. ” — @NikkiHaley on question re: cause of Civil War at last night’s town hall in Berlin, NH.@NHGOP #FITN
— NH Journal (@NewHampJournal) December 28, 2023
“It was definitely a Democrat plant. When I asked him, he didn’t want to answer. He didn’t give reporters his name,” she added.
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